Electric water-heater.



P. P. MEYERS. ELECTRIC WATER HEATER. APPLIdATIoN HLED mm2, 1909.

manned N0v.2,19o9.

` Unirnn sTATEs lPAfiEivif OFFICE.

PAUL 1. MEYERS, oF GRINNELL, IowA, AssIGNon or ONE-HALF 'ro oKEY K.COLE, oF GRINNELL, IOWA.

ELECTRIC WATER-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

Application led January 2, 1909. Serial No. 470,349.

To all whom 'i-t may concern:

Be it known that-I, PAUL P. MEYERS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Grinnell, in the county ofv Poweshiek and State of Iowa,have invented a certain new and useful Electric Water-Heater, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of electric water heaters in whichtwoelectrodes are spaced apart withinl asuitable water chamber, and thewater is heated by causing a current to iiowfrom one'electrode to theother through the water, the water itself forming the resistance whichis essential in causing the water to be heated.

I have discovered that water indifferent localities has a very widedeg'ree ofv .variation in regard to its resistance to electric currentand that, therefore, in some instances,

electrodes may be used having a compara-v tively small amount of exposedsurfaces, and in other instances it is necessary to have electrodes with.a much greater amountof exposed surfaces.

' My object is to provide a heater of this kind in which the electrodesare so arranged that the area of the exposed surfaces thereof may bereadily, quickly, andeasily varied to suit the requirements of the kindof water used.

A further object is to provide a heater of this kind of simple, durable,and inexpensive construction that is not likely to get out of order, orleak water.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinationof the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated areattained, as hereinafterl more fully' set forth, pointed, out in myclaims, andA illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure1 shows a vertical, central, sectional view of the electric water heaterembodying my invention. Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of same on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1., and-Fig. 3 shows a sectional view on the line 3-3of Fig. 1.

Referrin to the accompanying drawings, I have use the reference numeral10 tol 1ndicate the body portion of the heater which is preferably made4of a piece of pipe or tubing. At the upper end thereof is a screwcap 11having a discharge pipe 12 connectedl with it. Screwed to the lowerportion of the body portion 10 is a T-connection 13 having a water inletpipe 14 screwed into one of the branches thereof. Atthe bottom of theTfconnection 13 is a screw-plug 15 having a central opening therein andconnected to this plug 15 is a pipe section 16 having one end shaped toreceive a pipe 17, which pipe 17 is designed to receive and protect theelectric wires 18 and 19.

Arranged within the screw-plug 15 is an insulator block 20 having anannular shoulder 20a thereon to rest on a mating shoulder on thescrew-plug 15. A gasket 201 is placed between these shoulders to preventleakage of water. Mounted in the insulator block 20 rare two metal tubes23 projected through the plate 21 and having the' nuts 22 screwedthereon. The electric wires 18 and '19 pass throughthese tubes 23 andextend upwardly through the block 20. Surrounding the upper ends of thetubes 23 are the gaskets 23a. Below the insulator .block 20 1s aninsulator plate 21, and said plate and the tubes 23 are held in positionby the nuts 22 on the tubes.

The electrodes are constructed and arranged within the heater asfollows: Two electrode members 25 are provided, each consistin of astraight, round. rod, preferably mae ofi carbon. The lower ends thereofare extended through the plate 24 vand into the insulator block 20, andthey are provided with openings at their lower ends into which the'wires18 and 19 are inserted, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. These carbon rodsare held in position in the block 20 by means of a" sealing material 26arranged surrounding the lower ends of said carbon rods, and alsoarranged to insulate the wlres from the liquid. These carbon rods arearranged parallel with each other and extend members 34 that wereconnected to said carnumber of electrode members 34 may somewhat reducedin order to obtam a less, -volume of heated waterand Aa. reduced con- 34having a central opening-to receive thel tube 29 and a small opening onone side to receive and fit tightly' on one of the carbon 5 rods 25, anda large opening at its other side to receive the other carbon rod 254and to stand in position out of contact with it, Vas. clearly shown inFig. 2, this latter opening being indicated in said figure by thenumeral 35. Above the carbon member 34 is a second spacing washer 33,and above it is a second electrode member 34 similar to the one beforedescribed in all respects except that it is reversed in position, thatis to say, the large opening 35 therein is arranged adjacent to theopposite one of the carbon rods 25. A number of these disk shapedelectrode members are employed and all are arran ed in the same manneras the two just escribed, the alternate ones being in contact with theopposite carbon rods 25. Above the upper one of the electrode plates isa. supporting and bracing washer 36,

made of insulating material and having.

openings through it to receive the rod 27 and the carbon rods 25. Itsedges engage the interior of the pipe 10 and openings 37 are formed infit to permit the -passage of 'waten In practical use and assuming thatthe wires 18 and 19 are connected with a source of electrical supply,then the' current would iow through one of said' wires to the carbonrods 25 connected with it and would then be distributed to all of theelectrode bon rod 25, and when the body portion 10 is filled with water,the current will flow from all of said electrode members 34 to theadjacent surfaces of the electrode members v34 that are connected withthe opposite carbon rod 25. Y

Assuming that the kind of'water being used has comparatively greatresisting qualities, then a comparatively eat number of electrodemembers 34 must e used, or if it is found that the kind of water beingused does not oier great resistance to the current, Athen a 'le numberof electrode members are emplcgfed. The operator may very readily an-just what number of electrode members 34 are most desirable'to be usedin connection with water having a certain amount of resisting qualities,by first ytesting the device under the conditions of practical use. Ifit isfound that a comparatively large volume of water heated to theboiling point will 'constantly ilow fromthe heater, then tlg "sumptionof electric current,` or if it is found, uponexperiment, that only acomeasily ascertain, by experiment,

paratively small volume of water heated to the boiling point willcontinuously flow from the heater, then additional electrodes 34 may beaddeduntil the desired uantity of continuously owing water beate to theproper degree will flow from the heater.

T e structure of the device is so arranged that an operator may readilyand easily re- .move or attach the electrode members 34 by firstunscrewing the plug 15, and then removing the heating member from thebody portion 10, and then unscrewing the nut 31 to thereby obtain accessto the electrode members 34.

I claim as my invention.

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a body portionhaving an inlet and a discharge opening therein, two electrodescontained within said "body portion, and a number of electrode membersdetachably connected with each electrode, the electrode members on oneelectrode being in ter osed between those on the other electrode anspaced apart therefrom.

2. In a device of t-he class described, the combination of a bodyportion having inlet and discharge openings therein, two electrodesarranged within the body ortion, a rodarranged between the electro esand a lseries of electrode members detachably connected with eachelectrode and with said rod,

the electrode members on one electrode being arranged between those onthe other, an

-spaced a art therefrom, and insulators on portion and spaced apart fromeach other,

two electric wires, means for detachably connecting the alternate onesof said electrode plates with one wire, and means :Eor detachablyconnecting the remaining plates with the other Wire, or the -pur osesstated.

4. In a device of the c ass described, the combination of a body portionhaving inlet and discharge openings, a lu inserted in the lower portionof said ioy, two electrode rods fixed in and insulated from the plug,and spacedl apart from each other, a conductor wire connected with'eachelec? trode rod, a s u porting rod secured to the plug between t eelectrode rods an insuator tube thereon, a number of electrode plates,each havin a central opening to receive the rod, am? an opening on oneside to receive and fit against one of the electrode rods, and a largeropening on the vother side to surround the other electrode rod and tostand position out of contact with it, each of the alternate ones ofsaid electrode plates and insulntmg washers tolelectrode plates beingconnected to one of gether.

the electrode rods, and the remaining elec- Des lvloines, Iowa, Sept.8,1908.

trede plates to the other, insulating washers v PAUL P. MEYER-S. 5 onthe supprtin rod between the electrode lVit-nesses:

plates to space tie plates apart, und a. nut J. P. LYMAN,

on said supporting rod to connect all of the GRACE V. Gow.

